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February 19, 2012

I hate hands!

I really hate to sculpt hands!!! I mean, I really, really hate it! I am never ever satisfied with my accomplishments, and I sculpt with a overall feeling of anger and fear... Funny? I can sculpt a fearly good face and feet are also okay, but not hands... I suck at it! My beloved partner in crime is so supportive, and try to make me feel more selfconfident by claiming that there is absolutly nothing wrong with my sculpted hands, they are just a bit too big (every time...!) He also suggested that I could start by sculpting the hands, and sculpt the face that have the correct anatomical measurements afterwards... I always start with the head and the face, but perhaps I should try a new approach? I think I will try that...

Today, I started out by making a fairly reasonable pair of hands for my vampire doll, but after they had been baked, I sadly realised that they were too big... Okay, I cheered myself up, and started making a new pair. I checked the size and it looked okay, but after baking again (!) I realised that they had almost the same size as the first pair!! Oh my God, I had to take a break, because I felt like screaming!!!! How do I do it wrong all of the time? I know that the hands are getting bigger when I work and sculpt the clay, but how do I measure them correct during the process? I am trying to make nice elegant ladylike hands here! My hands all look like they belong to a Norwegian Troll!!

Look at my accomplishments today:

Here I am still pleased with my second pair of hands. They are definite smaller than the first pair, right?

Oh no, not again! They came out almost the same size as the first pair, AGAIN!!!

3 comments:

The more you dislike sculpting something the more you should sculpt it! :) Hopefully someday you'll learn to love making them.

Hands are one of my most favorite things to make, they can be so expressive...

Hope these little tips make it a bit more pleasant for you... :)

The adult hand is typically about 3/4 of the face Example: bottom of palm to chin and fingers come to the middle of eyebrows/ (the length of the facial features) Check this often against the face as you work to make sure your hands are not getting too big.

Look at your own hands as you work, they are wonderful references. The thumb falls to the front its not in line with the fingers. Finger tips are rounded and have a gentle and graceful curve.

Sculpting them at the same time and alternating helps you keep them close in size. Since polymer can get soft quickly on small things like fingers, alternating also helps to firm one up as you work on the other. Plus helps you to know you have a right and left hand! hee hee

Always good to try another approach if one way isnt working for you. If your hands always turn out too big try making a larger head to work in a more comfortable size or yes make the hands first. Always check them for size before you bake them.

What size are they? If possible try using a hand armature of proper size to the face, it will help guide the size.